For 3rd time in month, gun found at LVIA

Federal authorities confiscated a loaded handgun from a Monroe County woman who was going through the security checkpoint at Lehigh Valley International Airport Friday, the third such incident in less than a month.

The East Stroudsburg woman, who was not identified, was arrested by airport police, according to a news release from the Transportation Security Administration. TSA officers spotted the 9 mm handgun loaded with eight bullets, including one in the chamber, in the woman’s carry-on bag.

When the TSA officer spotted the gun on the checkpoint X-ray monitor, airport police were alerted, confiscated the gun and arrested the woman on weapons charges.

Fines for attempting to bring a loaded gun onto a plane range from $3,000$10,000 for loaded guns and $1,500$2,475 for unloaded guns, officials said. Citations for replica guns, BB guns and air guns range from $360-$2,090.

LVIA spokesperson Colin Riccobon said a person who is stopped is immediately arrested and normally faces a disorderly conduct charge, a summary offense. But if applicable, the person could also face more serious charges and be subjected to the fines.

“It’s a costly mistake,” Riccobon said. “We recommend people go to the airline’s and TSA websites to find out the proper way to travel with a firearm.”

It was the fourth such incident this year, and the third in a month. Earlier in August, authorities stopped a Hamburg man, while late last month, a Quakertown man was stopped for carrying weapons. In April, authorities detained a Lehighton man with a handgun loaded with seven bullets.

Passengers are permitted to travel with guns as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at the airline ticket counter, the TSA says on its website. Guns must be unloaded and packed separately from ammunition in a hard-sided, locked case, TSA said.

The ban on carrying a firearm on an aircraft also applies to people with concealed carry permits. Additionally, if a person found with a gun at a checkpoint is a member of TSA PreCheck, that person can lose those PreCheck privileges, the TSA said.

At LVIA, authorities confiscated one gun in 2020, one in 2019, seven in 2018 and four in 2017.

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